Molly Martens and her father Thomas have formally pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the ‘heinous, atrocious and cruel’ murder of Jason Corbett.

The pair entered pleas of not guilty to second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of the Limerick man at his home near Winston-Salem in North Carolina last August.

A beleaguered-looking Ms Martens wore two braids in her blonde hair, which she wore down.

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Molly Martens, 31, and her father Thomas Martens, 65, entered pleas of not guilty to second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of a Limerick man at his home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Corbett, who is originally from Limerick, was found in his home at 3am on August 2 after the Davidson County sheriff’s office received an emergency call from the house

A necklace was visible and the accused wore a black top and cardigan for the short fifteen minute hearing at Davidson Superior Court yesterday.

Her father Thomas wore a suit with a beige shirt and striped tie and helped his daughter to remove her black and grey floral coat for the hearing.

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Both of the accused showed little emotion during the arraignment except to occasionally bow their heads.

Greg Brown, the attorney representing the state of North Carolina in the case, said the crime was especially ‘heinous, atrocious and cruel’.

Molly Martens and her father Thomas have formally pleaded not guilty to charges relating to the ‘heinous, atrocious and cruel’ murder of Jason Corbett, her husband. She is pictured in court yesterday

Thomas Martens, a former FBI agent, and his daughter have been charged with second-degree murder

Both of the accused showed little emotion during the arraignment except to occasionally bow their heads (they are pictured outside the court yesterday)

Molly Martens and Thomas Martens having lunch at a Mexican Restaurant on January 6th, 2016 - a day after they were charged with the murder of Jason Corbett, Molly's husband

Mr Corbett, a 39-year-old father of two, suffered fatal head injuries at his luxury suburban home in Panther Creek Court.

The father of two’s autopsy showed he died from blunt force trauma to his head.

The description of the ‘means of death’ is a ‘ball bat and landscaping stone’.

Ms Martens’s father, Thomas, made a 911 call from Mr Corbett’s family home at 3.05am on the night the Limerick man was killed and claimed to the operator there had been an argument between Jason and Molly.

‘He was choking my daughter, he said he was going to kill her,’ Mr Martens alleged in the recorded call.

The defence maintains the actions of the accused were ‘reasonable and necessary in self-defence’ of Ms Martens’s life and that of her father.

In addition to questions about the use of the baseball bat, detectives are expected to focus on the time of death and blood spatter patterns at the home.

Mr Corbett, pictured with Molly, suffered fatal head injuries at his suburban home in Panther Creek Court

Charged: Martens tried to gain custody of the two children, one of whom she is seen with here

The 911 caller had said that he had an argument with his son-in-law and struck him with a baseball bat. Molly and Thomas are now charged with charged with second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter in relation to Corbett's death. Corbett is pictured above

Jason Corbett's body was found at the house in Panther Creek Ct in Davidson County, North Carolina

After his death, his Limerick-based family successfully fought Ms Martens for custody of Mr Corbett’s two children from his first marriage.

Jack and Sarah Corbett are now living in Ireland with his sister-in-law Tracey Lynch and her husband David.

Ms Martens, a 31-year-old former model and her ex-FBI agent father, 65, presented themselves to the Davidson County district attorney by appointment on January 5 and surrendered themselves to answer the charges.

After being arrested, photographed and fingerprinted last month the pair were taken in handcuffs before the Superior Court.

Both applied for bail, which was not opposed, and was granted on the condition that $200,000 is lodged with the court for each defendant, that they surrender their passports and agree to cease all contact with Mr Corbett’s immediate family, specifically his children Jack and Sarah.

At the hearing yesterday, Mr Brown said both the prosecutors and defence have tried to get copies of the personnel file of Mr Martens, a former FBI agent, but could not obtain copies without a court order, which the judge granted.

Thomas Martens (left) is charged in the death of his daughter Molly's husband, 39-year-old Jason Corbett (right). Corbett suffered fatal head injuries on August 2 at his house near Winston-Salem in North Carolina

Former FBI agent Thomas Martens is pictured in court yesterday after pleading not guilty

The order had sought details for specific FBI academy courses taken by the defendant, which included self-defence training, use of force training, decision making for use of force and any baton or impact weapon training.

Walter Holton, Ms Martens’s lawyer, motioned to subpoena records from the Department of Social Services in Davidson County and Union County shortly after the death of Mr Corbett.

The defence sought those interviews of the defendant and Jack and Sarah.

The court documents show the defence have argued that the interviews contain information regarding the events of August 2 when Mr Corbett was murdered, as well as accounts of Mr Corbett’s past treatment of his wife and children.

Mr Holton also stated that his client and her father are abiding by their bond requirement to not contact the Corbett children but wanted to make sure that no witness or potential witness in their cases is being threatened or intimidated by email or social media.

Prior to the hearing yesterday (Wednesday) Mr Martens entered from a side door with his lawyer David Freedman.

Ms Martens is understood to have entered from the rear with her lawyer Mr Holton and accompanying attorneys.

The next hearing is scheduled for April 4.

Jason Corbett is pictured with his first wife Margaret Fitzpatrick Corbett who died in November 2006 of an asthma attack

Molly Martens, 31, is escorted out of Davidson County Court House in Lexington, North Carolina last week

Thomas Martens allegedly struck Corbett in the head after an argument. He called 911 to warn them of the row